We Don't Fight Fair
by Elijah Blackwood
Summary: Everyone has abandoned Danny, so he has one person left to turn to. Vlad Masters.
1. Sam and I

It was cold, this particular morning, in July of my sophomore summer. My ghost powers were gone. I had a freak accident with one of Jack's inventions. Long story short, he's an idiot. I was at the coffee shop Sam and I always met at, 3:13pm sharp, every day. It was 4 and Sam was super late, which isn't like her. I called her phone, no answer. I had sent multiple texts with no response. I was worried but I stayed where I was, she'd get here eventually. I waited, and I waited, and I waited some more. No sign of her. I'd been ditched. Getting up, I went to a small abandoned swing set a few yards into some woods nearby. Sitting, rather than swinging, I thought about Sam. Why, of all days, did she decide to do this? The day I was going to ask if we could stay in a permanent relationship, rather than a faulty light switch of one. I never wanted this to happen, but I'm through. Through with putting up with all the bullshit. After looking at my watch, 7pm, I growled and walked to Sam's house. I wrote "We're through, forever." on a piece of paper and slid it through a crack in her window. Bye, Sam.

I never talked to her again. A week later she went steady with Tucker. Just my fucking luck, right? Wrong. They had been dating behind my back for months, but I knew. I thought she would change. I thought she'd loved me. I was, obviously, wrong. I saw them making out when I still had ghost powers back in 8th grade. No fake out makeout, no one was watching and they were way too touchy-feely for that. Then Sam would always whisper, "Wait, what if Danny found out? He'd be crushed." Then Tucker would always respond, "That's the fun and exhillerating part of it." Then she's go right back to making out with my best friend. Or, rather, my former best friend. Two years she's been doing this. Surprised? I'm not. She's no longer the girl I fell in love with. She's practically a goth Paulina. Scary image, right? I know, I thought so too.

I'm in my room now, packing my things to run away. I need a steady home. Something I've been deprived of my entire life by Maddie, my alcoholic caregiver, and Jack, her idiot husband, and my irritating-as-a-rash, perfect sister, Jazz. I left everything except my favorite clothes, money (my own collected funds, plus, the few hundred I collected from Jack and Maddie over the course of three months, for this purpose), and a picture of me and all the ghosts from the ghost zone (Including Dani, we all became very close after I started seeking refuge from my parents there). With my bag of school supplies, my textbooks taken out but my notes, pencils, paper, and etc. left, I put it in my larger bag and snuck out at 3am. I walked until I reached a bus station. This is the start of my new life as a runner.


	2. My Parents

My parents weren't divorced. They were just two different people now, no longer in love. Like they were divorced and living together. They fought a lot. Every night, actually. Valerie's dad got a job opening for an underling that he could train, Jack took it. He was gone so much I couldn't tell when he was home or at work. He is an idiot, as everyone knows, but he turned into an egotistical idiot. Being that idiot, he decided that, since the ghosts are no longer a problem, he will deprive me of my powers. Remember how I said my powers left in a freak accident with one of Jack's inventions? The accident was that it worked. Any ghost, could turn human and alive, or like me, a halfa, loses all powers and ghost DNA. Maddie, being the independant, brainy, woman she wishes she was, she started working as a scientific researcher. What did she study, you may ask? Effects of relationships on the brain. Ironic, considering that, after landing this job, hasn't spoke to me since. She drinks until she passes out, drunk. Another well-known secret, she got it from Jack. They do that every night, they fight, they pass out. The same stupid cycle.

Looking out of the window of the bus I'm on, I smile as I see the scenery. This bus is a deadhead to where I need to go. As it turns out, only a mile from the destination. I could walk the rest of the way. Looking around, I'm the only passenger. I look in my bag for a brief moment, looking for something to snack on. I see the Fenton DH Handheld Machine there- DeluxeHumanizer- the thing that turned me human. I made an exact copy, to tinker with so I can reverse the effects, and packed it along with the Fenton Thermos which must also be here somewhere. So far, no luck with returning the ectoplasm in my DNA. But I will find a way. Even if I turn full ghost.


	3. My New Home

Vlad Masters, the one person who constantly tried to split my parents up. It was a few years after the big fight and everything has kinda gone downhill from there. Sam and I were in an on/off relationship. I turned it to a perminate-off a week ago and Tucker sided with Sam. Who would think that I, all-powerful-Ghost-Boy, would need a person to talk to? Don't even think about Jazz being an option.

It was around Christmas and I thought that the Ghost Zone was more quiet than usual. It was dead silent. No pun intended- well, kinda, but anyway. I went up to visit "Uncle" Vlad to see if he knew anything.

I looked at my watch, it was midnight already? I knocked on the door, no answer. I tried the handle- _unlocked_. _Now that's weird_, I thought. I could hear a soft crying. I lingered in the doorway of his library before I heard a cracking whisper as he looked at me, "Daniel?" His eyes were bloodshot and sunk in his skull as the bags under his eyes looked almost black. "Hey," I said awkwardly. "Are you really there? Or is it just my mind playing tricks on me again?" He wiped tears away with the back of his hand. He looked so.. _broken_.

"Yeah, it's really me, you crazed-up fruitloop." I laughed a little, softly, as I walked closer. _How many times has he seen me when I wasn't there?_ A small smile crossed his lips. He looked so tired and much older than he should. _How long had it been since he's smiled?_ He got up slowly from his chair and stopped a foot in front of me. I wrapped my arms around his stomach and leaned my head against his chest. His breath hitched and he held back a sob, his heart beated slowly in his chest. Like he wanted to bask in this moment. I did too. He hugged me back tightly. I could barely breathe but I didn't care.

Jack went to work for Valerie's dad as an underling, he was barely ever home anymore. Mom started working as a scientific researcher. They're barely home anymore and when they are, they ignore me. Jazz moved into her college dorm. I'm alone more than before I met Sam and Tucker. Remembering this, I felt my hands clench onto his suit jacket.

"I'm here, don't worry, Danny." I felt my breath catch and my eyes burn as I clenched them shut. "I'm here." he whispered in my ear again. "What's wrong, Daniel?" He asked, looking down at me. I met his eyes with mine, "I'm alone..." It's all I could say before I started sobbing. He ran his fingers through my hair, wiping my tears off my cheeks. "Me too, Danny." I could feel his tears stop. He wanted to be strong. _For me._

"How long can I stay?" I asked, afraid of the answer. "As long as you want, Daniel." He said, smiling again. "One more thing." I said, my crying beginning to stop. "Yes?" He said, concerned again. "Call me Danny." I smiled up at him. "How long do you want to say, exactly?" He asked, walking me to my room. "Forever, if you'll let me." I said, my eyes distant. He knew I wasn't joking.

"What about school? Your family?" he asked, looking at me as he opened the door to my new room. "You're my family now. Like you always have been, it just took me a while to realize it." I saw him smile as he leaned against the door frame. He looked so much younger in this light, so much happier.

I got in bed, under the covers. He stood in the doorway, he still looked so surprised that this was all happening. "Goodnight, Danny." He said, turning off the light. "Goodnight, Dad." I could hear him whisper, "Son." It felt _right_. For once in my life, everything feels truly perfect.


End file.
